Mark Stoneman Profile Photo

Mark R. Stoneman

Historian, editor, and translator for hire (German to English). Longtime resident of Washington, DC, now in Conway, NH, as a caregiver (he/him).

  My Photos

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    Sign of Life

    My last post was of snow and now August is almost over? Yikes!

    After commuting thousands of miles between DC and New Hampshire since my father’s passing, I’ve spent the summer in New Hampshire. The marathon driving sessions wear on me, so I’ve been avoiding them.

    The driving was because I haven’t found a good way to have my mother live alone for more than a few weeks at a time. I haven’t worked out a strategy for getting her help while preserving as much of her independence as possible. So I’ve been the help.

    Maybe that’s a good thing, even if it often feels like I’m treading water. During my father’s final months, everything had to be about him. Now I’m able to take the time to work out my mother’s specific needs, even as she works out the business of living as a widow after more than sixty-five years of marriage.

    Besides, a health issue has come up that we have to deal with.

    a farm stand selling young plants at the beginning of spring in Maine A view of the water and granite at Diana’s Baths.
    giant labs of granite in the New Hampshire woods Sand dunes in Barnstable, MA
    1. My mother enjoying flowers and the arrival of spring at Weston’s Farm in Freyburg, Maine.
    2. Slabs of granite in the woods next to the upper section of Diana’s Baths.
    3. A view of the water and granite at Diana’s Baths.
    4. Sand dunes in Barnstable, MA. Was taking a break after driving to Cape Cod to see my wife, my son, and my son’s family.

    (All photos by author)

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    Snow-covered trees with a moon behind them

    Snow-covered trees with a moon behind them in Center Conway, NH, on the evening of January 6, 2023. The slightly visible lines in the sky are a light wintry mix of precipitation. (Photo by author)

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    New Hampshire Winter

    In-home and residential care options for octogenarians have become extremely limited in these trying times, so I’ve been spending the last quarter of 2021 at my parents' in the White Mountains. This will continue into 2022. I miss DC, but it’s not like I can take advantage of the city’s rich research and cultural resources during this never-ending pandemic.

    Echo Lake, newly frozen over, with Cathedral Ledge in the background
    The last 6 or 8 inches of corn stalks left after the summer's corn crop was harvested. They poke through a layer of snow and ice. It is dusk, and the sun just disappeared behind a mountain.

    Photos taken in North Conway, New Hampshire, by author.

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    Springtime in Glover Park, Washington, DC

    Photograph of a tree with vibrant blossoms

    (Photo by author)

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    Quarantine Life

    Cold-brewing some tea, two hibiscus and one lemon balm

    three glass beer mugs, each one liter, on the window sill

    (Photo by author)

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    Saco River

    white birch on the left, snow visible on the far bank, water quite still, with reflections of bare and needle trees

    Saco River in Conway, NH, just upstream from the covered bridges on the afternoon of December 25, 2019. Photo by author.

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    Mt. Washington

    Mount Washington is covered in snow, the valley stretched out before it.

    Mt. Washington from Intervale, NH, on January 31, 2020. Photo by author.

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    Astoria, Oregon

    early morning foliage from a farm house

    sun about to rise from behind the mountain

    cows grazing in the morning sun

    a view of the river separating Oregon from Washinton, with two merchant ships headed upstream

    a dramatic landscape from the top of a local patriotic attraction: trees, river, hill, clouds, light

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    On the Metro

    All DC area residents have complaints and even horror stories to tell about the Metro. Since introducing it to children in the family from out of town, I’ve started looking at it with fresh eyes.

    DC's tubular Metro platforms and escalators
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    Elephant Seals

    Female elephant seals sleeping on the beach during molting season. Two younger seals, perhaps males, are coming in from the water.

    Some elephant seals seen on the coast of California on May 14, 2018 (photo by author).

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    Seen at Dupont Circle tonight

    Two photos at night. Kramerbooks window on left. Sidewalk sign in chalk on right that reads, 'Bookstores, your Alternative Department of Education'

    Photos by author.

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    Feminism

    Woman in pink pussy hat holding up a sign with a text facing backward in photographer's direction. It reads, 'Feminism is the radical notion that women are people'

    Seen yesterday at the Women’s March in Washington, DC.

    Photo by author

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    Grafenwöhr 1983

    Streaky old scan of two GIs in the field in Germany, full gear, each blowing smoke from his mouth

    A younger historian on Facebook called this picture a “Nice primary source of the late Cold War!” I don’t know what that makes me, the guy in front, but I decided to share here too.

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    Communism, Consumerism, and Currency

    Photograph with a wall showing Chines Communist propaganda, including some sandbags on the floor, with a cash machine in front of it and some store advertising on the right

    Seen at an upscale mall in Guiyang, China this summer. (Photo by author)

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